Heat exchanger with thermoelectric elements

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanger apparatus with thermoelectric elements may include a heat-absorbing pipe that transfers heat from one side to another side thereof, a pair of thermoelectric elements that may be provided on the another side of the heat-absorbing pipe opposed to each other with respect to the heat-absorbing pipe, each of the thermoelectric elements having a heat-absorbing surface in contact with the heat-absorbing pipe, a pair of heat-discharging pipes, each of the heat-discharging pipes having a surface in contact with a heat-discharging surface of the respective thermoelectric element on one side thereof, and heat exchanging members provided on the one side of the heat-absorbing pipe and on another side of the heat-discharging pipes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2013-0157908, filed on Dec. 18, 2013, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger with thermoelectricelements that is compact even with the thermoelectric elements, iseasily designed and fabricated, and has good efficiency, and a method ofmanufacturing the same.

2. Description of Related Art

Previously, a heat exchanger using thermoelectric elements has a platestructure. In a plate structure, a channel for coolant is provided onone side of the plate and air-side radiation fins are installed onanother side where heat is radiated.

Such a plate structure, however, has drawbacks in that it is too heavyand the thickness of water-side contact portion cannot be reduced sothat overheating may be caused when thermoelectric elements areoperated.

As another structure of heat exchangers with thermoelectric elements,there is a core structure. In a core structure, pipes are located onboth sides, a plurality of tubes are connected between the pipes,thermoelectric elements are located on the tubes, and air-side radiationfins are located on the thermoelectric elements. Such a core structure,however, is difficult to fabricate because thermoelectric elementsshould be assembled after a core is assembled according to its assemblyscheme, and thus variations in quality are caused too much.

The present invention is directed to a structure of a heat exchangerwith thermoelectric elements in which coolant flows on one side whileair flows on another side, and specifically to a structure that thermalresistance on the coolant side is minimized, thermoelectric elements areeasily mounted when assembling the heat exchanger, and quality controlcan be individually performed. Further, the present invention isdirected to a structure that cost for manufacturing molds is minimizedby sharing elements.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section isonly for enhancement of understanding of the general background of theinvention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form ofsuggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to aperson skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing aheat exchanger with thermoelectric elements that is compact even withthe thermoelectric elements, is easily designed and fabricated, and hasgood efficiency, and a method of manufacturing the same.

In an aspect of the present invention, a heat exchanger apparatus withthermoelectric elements, may include a heat-absorbing pipe thattransfers heat from one side to another side thereof, a pair ofthermoelectric elements that are provided on the another side of theheat-absorbing pipe opposed to each other with respect to theheat-absorbing pipe, each of the thermoelectric elements having aheat-absorbing surface in contact with the heat-absorbing pipe, a pairof heat-discharging pipes, each of the heat-discharging pipes having asurface in contact with a heat-discharging surface of the respectivethermoelectric element on one side thereof, and heat exchanging membersprovided on the one side of the heat-absorbing pipe and on another sideof the heat-discharging pipes.

The heat-absorbing pipe and the heat-discharging pipes may have a plateshape.

The another side of the heat-absorbing pipe is at least level with orhigher than the one side thereof.

The pair of the heat-discharging pipes are symmetric to each other withrespect to the heat-absorbing pipe such that the heat-discharging pipesface each other to the another side of the heat-absorbing pipe.

The another side of the heat-discharging pipe is at least level with orhigher than the one side thereof.

The heat exchanging members are heat exchanging fins.

Heat exchanging fins come in contact with two surfaces of theheat-absorbing pipe on the one side thereof, as the heat exchangingmembers.

Heat exchanging fins come in contact with two surfaces of theheat-discharging pipes on the another side thereof, as the heatexchanging members, wherein adjacent heat-discharging pipes share theheat exchanging fins therebetween.

A heat-discharging duct is connected to a front of the heat-dischargingpipes and a heat-absorbing duct is connected to a front of theheat-absorbing pipe.

The heat-discharging pipes and the heat-absorbing pipe form a rightangle therebetween.

In another aspect of the present invention, a heat exchanger apparatuswith thermoelectric elements is configured with heat exchanging modulesarranged in parallel, in which each of the heat exchanging modules mayinclude a heat-absorbing pipe that transfers heat from one side toanother side thereof, a pair of thermoelectric elements that areprovided on the another side of the heat-absorbing pipe opposed to eachother with respect to the heat-absorbing pipe, each of thethermoelectric elements having a heat-absorbing surface in contact withthe heat-absorbing pipe, a pair of heat-discharging pipes, each of theheat-discharging pipes having a surface in contact with aheat-discharging surface of the respective thermoelectric elements onone side thereof, and heat exchanging members provided on the one sideof the heat-absorbing pipe and on the another side of theheat-discharging pipe.

Adjacent heat exchanging modules may have a heat transfer weight partbetween facing surfaces on one side of adjacent heat-discharging pipes.

Adjacent heat exchanging modules share the heat exchanging membersbetween facing surfaces on one side of adjacent heat-absorbing pipes.

Adjacent heat exchanging modules share the heat exchanging membersbetween facing surfaces on another side of adjacent heat-dischargingpipes.

The one side of the heat-absorbing pipe is lower than the another sidethereof and the thermoelectric elements are connected on another side,and the one side of the heat-discharging pipes is lower than anotherside thereof and the thermoelectric elements are connected on the oneside.

A heat-discharging duct is connected to a front of the heat-dischargingpipes and a heat-absorbing duct is connected to a front of theheat-absorbing pipe.

The heat-discharging pipes and the heat-absorbing pipe form a rightangle therebetween.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other featuresand advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in moredetail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, andthe following Detailed Description, which together serve to explaincertain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger with thermoelectricelements according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the heat exchanger according to theexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing examples of installing a heat exchangerwith thermoelectric elements according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarilyto scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousfeatures illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. Thespecific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein,including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations,and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intendedapplication and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent partsof the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) willbe described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that the present description is not intended to limit theinvention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, theinvention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalentsand other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Embodiments of the present invention are described hereafter withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger with thermoelectricelements according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the heat exchanger according to theexemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 areviews showing examples of installing a heat exchanger withthermoelectric elements according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

A heat exchanger with thermoelectric elements according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes: a heat-absorbing pipe 300that transfers heat from one side 301 to another side 302, a pair ofthermoelectric elements 100 and 100′ that are provided at another side302 of the heat-absorbing pipe 300 with heat-absorbing surfaces incontact with the heat-absorbing pipe 300, a pair of heat-dischargingpipes 200 and 200′, each of which has a surface on one side 201 incontact with the heat-discharging surfaces of the respectivethermoelectric element 100 and 100′, and heat exchanging members 220,240, 320 and 340 provided at the one side 301 of the heat-absorbing pipe300 and another side 202 of the heat-discharging pipe 200 and 200′.

The thermoelectric elements 100 and 100′, upon receiving electricity,serve to absorb heat to discharge it from one side to another side.Thus, one side surface thereof serves as a heat-absorbing surface andanother side surface thereof serves as a heat-discharging surface.

In such a heat exchanger using thermoelectric elements 100 and 100′, theperformance of the heat exchanger relies especially on how efficientlyheat is discharged from the heat-discharging surfaces in coolingoperation. Therefore, such a heat exchanger using thermoelectricelements requires that the area or weight of the heat-discharging sideis greater than that of the heat-absorbing side. To this end, a heatexchanger with thermoelectric elements according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes: a heat-absorbing pipe 300that transfers heat from one side 301 to another side 302, a pair ofthermoelectric elements 100 and 100′ that are provided on both sides ofthe heat-absorbing pipe 300 on another side 302 thereof, withheat-absorbing surfaces in contact with the heat-absorbing pipe 300, apair of heat- discharging pipe 200 and 200′, each of which has a surfaceon one side 201 in contact with the heat-discharging surfaces of therespective thermoelectric element 100 and 100′, and heat exchangingmembers 220, 240, 320 and 340 provided on the one side 301 of theheat-absorbing pipe 300 and another side 202 of the heat-dischargingpipe 200 and 200′.

The heat-absorbing pipe 300 transfers heat from the one side 301 toanother side 302. Further, the thermoelectric elements 100 and 100′ areprovided on another side 302 of the heat-absorbing pipe 300 opposed toeach other with respect to the heat-absorbing pipe 300. With thisconfiguration, the thermoelectric elements 100 and 100′ receive heatfrom one heat-absorbing pipe 300 to discharge the heat through theheat-discharging surfaces on the outer sides.

The heat-discharging surfaces of the thermoelectric elements 100 and100′ come in contact with a pair of heat-discharging pipes 200 and 200′on one side 201. Accordingly, heat is absorbed through oneheat-absorbing pipe 300 whereas the heat is discharged through the pairof thermoelectric elements 100 and 100′ and through the pair ofheat-discharging pipes 200 and 200′, thereby increasing the efficiency.

The heat exchanging members 220, 240, 320 and 340 are provided on theone side 301 of the heat-absorbing pipe 300 and on another side 202 ofthe heat-discharging pipe 200 and 200′, such that heat is exchanged.

The heat-absorbing pipe 300 and the heat-discharging pipe 200 and 200′may have a plate shape, and the heat exchanging member 220, 240, 320 and340 may be heat exchanging fins.

As more specifically depicted in FIG. 2, the one side 301 of theheat-absorbing pipe 300 may be level with or higher than another side302. With this configuration, heat is more efficiently transferred sinceit is transferred from a lower position to a higher position. Likewise,the pair of heat-discharging pipes 200 and 200′ are symmetric to eachother with respect to the heat-absorbing pipe 300 such that they faceeach other, and another side 202 of the heat-discharging pipes 200 and200′ may also be at least level with or higher than the one side 201.

In addition, on both side surfaces of the heat-absorbing pipe 300 on theone side 301, heat exchanging fins may come in contact therewith, as theheat exchanging members 320 and 340. Further, on both surfaces of theheat-discharging pipes 200 and 200′ on another side 202, heat exchangingfins may come in contact therewith, as the heat exchanging member 220and 240. Adjacent heat-discharging pipes 200 and 200′ may share heatexchanging fins.

FIG. 1 shows a general structure of the heat exchanger. The heatexchanger with thermoelectric elements according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention may be configured with heatexchanging modules A arranged in parallel, each of the modules includes:a heat-absorbing pipe 300 that transfers heat from one side 301 toanother side 302, a pair of thermoelectric elements 100 and 100′ thatare provided on both sides of the heat-absorbing pipe 300 on anotherside 302 thereof, with heat-absorbing surfaces in contact with theheat-absorbing pipe 300, a pair of heat-discharging pipe 200 and 200′,each of which has a surface on one side 201 in contact with theheat-discharging surfaces of the respective thermoelectric element 100and 100′, and heat exchanging members 220, 240, 320 and 340 provided onthe one side 301 of the heat-absorbing pipe 300 and on another side 202of the heat-discharging pipe 200 and 200′.

Further, adjacent heat exchanging modules A and B may have aheat-transfer weight part 400 between the facing surfaces of theadjacent heat-discharging pipes 200 and 200′ on the one side 201. Withthis configuration, at the heat-discharging side, adjacentthermoelectric elements and adjacent heat-discharging pipes arethermally connected to each other, such that they have high weight andthus the efficiency is increased.

Further, adjacent heat exchanging modules A and B may share the heatexchanging member 340 between the facing surfaces of the adjacentheat-absorbing pipes on the one side. Further, adjacent heat exchangingmodules A and B may share the heat exchanging member 220′ between thefacing surfaces of the adjacent heat-discharging pipes on another side202. With this configuration, the heat exchanging efficiency isincreased.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of installing a heat exchanger withthermoelectric elements according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention depending on a duct arrangement via which air flows.Specifically, FIG. 3 shows a linear duct arrangement in which aheat-discharging duct 20 is on a line with a heat-absorbing duct 30, andFIG. 4 shows a bent duct arrangement in which the heat-discharging duct20 and the heat-absorbing duct 30 forms 90 degrees. Likewise, the oneside of the heat-absorbing pipe is lower than another side thereof, andthermoelectric elements are connected on another side. The one side ofthe heat-discharging pipe is lower than another side thereof, andthermoelectric elements are connected on the one side. Accordingly, heatis transferred from a lower position to a higher position naturally,such that the heat-transferring efficiency is increased.

As set forth above, according to the heat exchanger with thermoelectricelements thus configured, the performance and efficiency of thethermoelectric element can be maximized, the location of a radiator canbe freely determined, and radiation fins can be For convenience inexplanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms“upper”, “lower”, “inner” and “outer” are used to describe features ofthe exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of suchfeatures as displayed in the figures.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain certain principles of the invention and their practicalapplication, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make andutilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as wellas various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended thatthe scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A heat exchanger apparatus with thermoelectricelements, comprising: a heat-absorbing pipe that transfers heat from oneside to another side thereof; a pair of thermoelectric elements that areprovided on the another side of the heat-absorbing pipe opposed to eachother with respect to the heat-absorbing pipe, each of thethermoelectric elements having a heat-absorbing surface in contact withthe heat-absorbing pipe; a pair of heat-discharging pipes, each of theheat-discharging pipes having a surface in contact with aheat-discharging surface of the respective thermoelectric element on oneside thereof; and heat exchanging members provided on the one side ofthe heat-absorbing pipe and on another side of the heat-dischargingpipes.
 2. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 1, wherein theheat-absorbing pipe and the heat-discharging pipes have a plate shape.3. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 1, wherein the another side ofthe heat-absorbing pipe is at least level with or higher than the oneside thereof.
 4. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 1, wherein thepair of the heat-discharging pipes are symmetric to each other withrespect to the heat-absorbing pipe such that the heat-discharging pipesface each other to the another side of the heat-absorbing pipe.
 5. Theheat exchanger apparatus of claim 1, wherein the another side of theheat-discharging pipe is at least level with or higher than the one sidethereof.
 6. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heatexchanging members are heat exchanging fins.
 7. The heat exchangerapparatus of claim 1, wherein heat exchanging fins come in contact withtwo surfaces of the heat-absorbing pipe on the one side thereof, as theheat exchanging members.
 8. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 1,wherein heat exchanging fins come in contact with two surfaces of theheat-discharging pipes on the another side thereof, as the heatexchanging members, wherein adjacent heat-discharging pipes share theheat exchanging fins therebetween.
 9. The heat exchanger apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein a heat-discharging duct is connected to a front of theheat-discharging pipes and a heat-absorbing duct is connected to a frontof the heat-absorbing pipe.
 10. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 1,wherein the heat-discharging pipes and the heat-absorbing pipe form aright angle therebetween.
 11. A heat exchanger apparatus withthermoelectric elements configured with heat exchanging modules arrangedin parallel, each of the heat exchanging modules comprising: aheat-absorbing pipe that transfers heat from one side to another sidethereof; a pair of thermoelectric elements that are provided on theanother side of the heat-absorbing pipe opposed to each other withrespect to the heat-absorbing pipe, each of the thermoelectric elementshaving a heat-absorbing surface in contact with the heat-absorbing pipe;a pair of heat-discharging pipes, each of the heat-discharging pipeshaving a surface in contact with a heat-discharging surface of therespective thermoelectric elements on one side thereof; and heatexchanging members provided on the one side of the heat-absorbing pipeand on the another side of the heat-discharging pipe.
 12. The heatexchanger apparatus of claim 11, wherein adjacent heat exchangingmodules have a heat transfer weight part between facing surfaces on oneside of adjacent heat-discharging pipes.
 13. The heat exchangerapparatus of claim 11, wherein adjacent heat exchanging modules sharethe heat exchanging members between facing surfaces on one side ofadjacent heat-absorbing pipes.
 14. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim11, wherein adjacent heat exchanging modules share the heat exchangingmembers between facing surfaces on another side of adjacentheat-discharging pipes.
 15. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 11,wherein the one side of the heat-absorbing pipe is lower than theanother side thereof and the thermoelectric elements are connected onanother side, and the one side of the heat-discharging pipes is lowerthan another side thereof and the thermoelectric elements are connectedon the one side.
 16. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 11, wherein aheat-discharging duct is connected to a front of the heat-dischargingpipes and a heat-absorbing duct is connected to a front of theheat-absorbing pipe.
 17. The heat exchanger apparatus of claim 11,wherein the heat-discharging pipes and the heat-absorbing pipe form aright angle therebetween.